Exit Here: Is Your Website Chasing Away Business?

Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Does your Google Analytics dashboard look like a rollercoaster? People showing up, then leaving within a few seconds? You might have a site design problem. Here’s what to do about it.

Do People Find It Difficult To Read Your Content?

Everyone wants to believe that they are being perfectly clear, all the time – especially in writing. But, the reality is that most of us are not as clear as we could be. And, it happens for a variety of reasons. Have your content looked over by a professional editor for readability. Or, have someone who is not in your industry read it. Can they understand what’s written?

If your content uses too much technical jargon, or it’s not clear what you do or how you help the customer, then it needs to be reworked. Do not think that your customers will bother with technical jargon or details that are outside of their own industry. They will not. It’s your job to communicate your value to them, not their job to decipher it from what you write.

And, if you make it too hard, they will simply go elsewhere for a solution to their problem. Another issue might be font size. Generally, your website font size should be no smaller than about 14px. And, many website usability experts say that it should be no smaller than 16px. The older your audience, the larger the font size needs to be. Anyone older than 40 finds it most comfortable reading a font size larger than 18px on the web. They might be able to read smaller fonts, but they will have to lean in to to it or work just a little bit harder to see.

And, if they have to work harder to see it, they’re not relaxing while reading your sales pitch or offer or reading about your products. That’s bad.

You Have Autoplay Enabled On Your Website

Make it stop! Most users do not like to have things playing automatically on their browsers. Look at Palmer Snell. Notice anything? It’s an incredibly informative website without being annoying. Nothing pops up at you, starts playing automatically. No weird videos or mysterious audio.

Most users find it especially annoying when they’re at work or near a sleeping family member or in any other place where it’s expected that they will be quiet. The reality is that people surf the web from pretty much wherever it’s convenient for them. And, unexpected sounds, motion, flashing, or audio makes them instantly distrust your site. It makes people want to hit the back button quickly, because that’s so much easier than trying to find the audio shutoff button.

If you do want video on your site, make sure that the user gets the option of watching it. Make users actively click a video button.

You Still Have Pop-Ups And Ads

People hate popup ads. Over and over again, Nielsen Norman Group finds that users detest popups. Some marketers believe that they work and increase conversions for email list building. But, is there a downside? There sure is. are more likely to give out fake emails or just sign up so that the popup goes away.

Yet, many marketers insist that they work and that they increase sales. If you feel you must use them, use exit popups or popups on the sidebar where they will be unobtrusive.

Your Navigation is Confusing

Your navigation should be easy to use and provide users with information they’re looking for. If they have to sift through pages and pages of content on your site, you’ll lose the opportunity to earn their business.

Before populating your website, make a site map that clearly maps out all of your important products or services. Include relevant links on your inner pages so that customers can click through to related products or services.

Your Website Lacks A Call To Action Or Is Too Pushy

You either have too many calls to action or too few. They result in the same outcome: a high bounce rate. It’s OK to include a call to action for your visitors, but do not bombard them with things like popups and don’t make every other paragraph a sales pitch.

Consider creating a marketing funnel for a higher conversion rate. For example, if you create a valuable newsletter, you’ll have a much better conversion rate on the back end because you’ll be able to drip out content over time. And, this naturally increases the conversion because you get time to present your sales pitch. It’s not an “all or nothing” proposition.

Bertha Gomez is a business consultant who has a background in web design. She can often improve sales just by suggesting a few website tweaks to her clients, and shares that knowledge with a wider audience online through her articles.